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Nest with thoughts on experience design

14 June 2012

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The elusive “CXO”

“C”-level positions share duties at the helms of companies large and small (“Chief Executive Officer” and “Chief Financial Officer” are common), however in today’s service-led economy, a seemingly-obvious but rarely-found role exists in the same echelon: “Chief Experience Officer”.

In this post, experience design consultant Reuben Steiger notes that stand-out successes in the corporate world are companies that put design at the forefront, and have broken free of the traditional product- and technology-based approaches. A certain Cupertino-based firm comes quickly to mind.

However even though a design-driven approach lies at heart of these pioneers – and the tight integration of product, service and brand seems relatively easy to replicate – there is rarely someone in charge of the customer experience itself, where those three factor should seamlessly coalesce. Simply put, “the crux of the problem is that building great experiences is everyone’s responsibility and nobody’s job.”

“In a perfect world, this would be the responsibility of the Chief Experience Officer. The CXO would recognize and react to the changing needs, expectations, and emotions of customers, working with all internal divisions to ensure that the brand and its products and services were all orchestrated to deliver the greatest possible customer experience.”

And even in cases where the elusive CXO role might not be implemented, Steiger suggests five solutions towards building an experience-led organization.